Yadullah Hussain | July 8, 2014 | Last Updated: Jul 8 6:20 PM ET

Upstart firm Steelhead LNG Corp. is hoping that it can break the dominance of major gas players to carve a market for independent companies in British Columbia’s crowded liquefied natural gas market.

Steelhead applied for an export permit with the National Energy Board to transport up to 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas, the company said Tuesday at a press conference in British Columbia.

The Vancouver-based company also signed an agreement with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations (HFN) to jointly explore the development of the LNG project on HFN-owned land at Sarita Bay, about 10 kilometres north of Anacla at the southern end of Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island. The company also has the support of Port Alberni Port Authority, which played matchmaker by encouraging the First Nations group to discuss an LNG initiative with Steelhead.

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BRENT JANG
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jul. 08 2014, 1:00 PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 08 2014, 2:15 PM EDT

A self-governing aboriginal group on Vancouver Island has signed a deal with a fledgling liquefied natural gas company in hopes of developing a massive project to export LNG to Asia.

Members of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations say they are eager to work with project leader Steelhead LNG Corp. to build an export terminal near Bamfield on the southwest side of Vancouver Island.

Huu-ay-aht First Nations chief councillor Jeff Cook said his group is in a strong position to help nurture a major venture in the resource sector. He noted that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled last month that the consent of aboriginals is required for how their ancestral lands are used.

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Company reaches deal with Huu-ay-aht for export facility

Eric Plummer / Alberni Valley Times
July 9, 2014 12:00 AM

An agreement has been reached between the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and a Vancouver-based company that could bring a $30-billion liquefied natural gas facility to Barkley Sound.

The development would be located in Sarita Bay, approximately 70 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni on Huu-ay-aht land. A long list of regulatory approvals lie ahead, beginning with an application made on Tuesday by Steelhead LNG, the development’s parent company, to the National Energy Board for approval to export 30-million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year from the site.

Nigel Kuzemko, CEO of Steelhead LNG, is looking into bringing pipelines to the proposed facility. He expects the LNG plant would not be operational for at least eight years.

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By Alberni Valley News
Published: July 08, 2014 09:00 PM
Updated: July 09, 2014 10:3210 AM

The Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s dream of an LNG facility has taken a giant step closer to reality.

The Huu-ay-aht and liquid gas conglomerate Steelhead LNG signed an agreement on Tuesday that will see them explore the possibility of building a $30 billion liquid natural gas (LNG) plant in Sarita Bay.

“In 2011 we signed the Maa-nulth Treaty and it changed our lives,” said Jeff Cook, chief councillor of the 750-member Huu-ay-aht. “We said afterward that we are open for business and we’ve been pursuing that.”

The proposed plant would be built on Huu-ay-aht land at Sarita Bay, approximately 10 kilometres north of their village in Anacla.

Steelhead filed for an export licence from the National Energy Board to export up to 30 million tonnes of LNG annually for 25 years. “That could be used for this site,” Steelhead CEO Nigel Kuzemko said. The company hopes to launch with 12 million tonnes of annual LNG capacity by 2022.

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